Mandolin



(No Model B. N. RETHEY.

MANDLIN.

Patented De0.15,1896.

Tn: mams Firms co, Pnovmuwu. wAsnlNnmN. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

IENJAMIN N. RETI-IEY, OF CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS.

MANDOLIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,357', dated December 15, 1896.

Application filed July 28, 1896. Serial No. 600,848. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it '11m/y concern,.-

Beit known that I, BENJAMIN N. RETHEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Champaign, in the county of Champaign and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mandolins and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appcr tains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in musical instruments, and especially to an improved shell for mandolins and other stringed instruments; and the aim of the present invention is to dispense entirely with ribs in the construction of the shell, in which sheets of thin veneering are iirst glued together, and having glued to the surface thereof a sheet of interwoven strips or blocks of wood so arranged that the grains of the wooden blocks are disposed at right angles to one another, thus forming an outer strengthening-layer, which will effectively strengthen the shell and prevent the same from checking or splitting, While at the same time a clear tone may be produced from the peculiar construction of the shell.

The invention relates, further, to the construction of a shell for musical instruments of the construction referred to, in which the shell is made up of two sections about its oval portion, with a seam longitudinally over the curved surface of the shell.

To these ends and to such others as the invention may pertain, the same consists, further, in the novel construction, combination, and adaptation of the parts, as will be here inafter more fully described and then speeifically delined in the appended claim.

I clearly illustrate my invention in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specication, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a mandolin constructed in accordance with Iny invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the shell on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section of the shell, showing the layers of veneering with the inlaid Work mounted thereon. Fig.

4 is a sectional view on line i 4i of Fig. 3.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates the shell complete,which is made u p, preferably, of two sections, the meeting edges of which are at B. Each section of the said shell is made up of two pieces of veneering glued together, (represented clearly in Fig. 3 of the drawings,) the sheets of veneering being lettered C and D. The outer sheet of veneering is covered with a sheet of interwoven strips E, which interlace at right angles to one another, with intervening solid square blocks c at the edges of each set of strips at their points of intersection, thus making a solid homogeneous coverin g,which, owing to the peculiar construction, together with the underlying sheets of veneering, produce a shell which is not likely to check, warp, or split, and at the same time one which is resonant.

From the construction above described it will be noticed that no ribs at all are utilized in the make-up of the shell, and it has been found from experience that by dispensing with them entirely a much clearer tone is produced in the instrument.

While I have described a construction of mandolin in which a basketwork of inlaid strips is used, I do not limit myself to such a construction of inlaid work, as it is my purpose to have various designs and also to make the shell plain, but in every instance it is my purpose to have the lgrains in the make-up of the layers of the shell run crosswise to one another.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A ribless shell for mandolins and other musical instruments, consisting of the two complemental oval portions of the shell, made up of sheets of veneering on which is mounted a sheet of interwoven strips of wood having solid blocks of wood interposed between the points of intersection of the said strips, substantially 'as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN N. RETHEY.

Witnesses J. I'MICHAEL, FERDINAND C. LIGHTE. 

